Charles Taylor
Background * R, US Congressman, 8 term * Western North Carolina * Charles H. Taylor at Wikipedia Links * http://taylorsucks.org, biting satire, a professional look and a bawdy name, the anonymous authors of have lambasted the eight-term congressman ever since their Internet barn raising. Issues Insights On the other side of the race for Taylor's House seat, a California football fan launched a site ridiculing Democratic opponent Heath Shuler, a former Washington Redskins quarterback, for his lackluster NFL career. The creator of http://stopshuler.com, Jason Woodmansee of San Diego, said his site could be construed as pro-Taylor but is actually pro-football. :"He's what you would call the lesser of two evils -- from a football perspective," said Woodmansee, referring to Taylor. Woodmansee's day job is to manage a golf equipment company's Web operations. :Woodmansee says the site is a joke, but he admits sensing Republicans are using it to perpetuate a "dumb jock" image of Shuler. The National Republican Congressional Committee has taken to sending him news releases. From the blog: Memo to Charles Taylor: You're not helping Taylor_picv2_2 Now that the primary is settled, and the November election slate is set, it is time to take a look at the horse we're betting on, incumbent Republican Charles "Chuck" Taylor. The good news is that he is an incumbent. And 9 times out of 10, incumbents win. Especially in relatively conservative districts like NC-11. The bad news is, well, just about everything else. Here is the opening paragraph from a recent article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: ::"Western North Carolina voters have supported U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor for 16 years, despite loan scandals at his bank, his acceptance of questionable campaign donations and his financial ties to Russia. ::They've looked beyond his plan to spend almost $600 million for a controversial road through pristine parts of the Smoky Mountains. They didn't turn away even though records show he hasn't paid more than $1,800 in 2000 property taxes owed to Jackson County and that he's accepted more than $19,000 in campaign contributions from convicted gaming lobbyist Jack Abramoff." That's not exactly a glowing list of accomplishments. But it gets better (worse). The reason a Pittsburgh paper is running a story about a NC Congressman is that Taylor had been blocking federal funding for a United Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania. Yes, Taylor had bravely come out against the families of 9/11 victims. Thanks a lot. The other big Taylor story these days is that he swears he meant to vote "no" on a bill that he managed not to vote on at all. This is the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) bill, which ended up passing by the slimmest of margins (217-215). Taylor's office says that it was a technical glitch -- the world's most convenient technical glitch that allowed the bill to pass (like the Republican leadership wanted) without Taylor having to vote for it. So, our message to Charles Taylor: Knock it off. You have the Congressional Manual -- never vote against patriotic issues in an election year. Also, if you have to lie, at least make it plausible -- not too many people are going to buy "I meant to vote against it." C'mon, you're running against Heath Shuler -- don't make it so hard on yourself. ---- Taylor, Charles